Fossilized Hearts
by Mxcreant
Summary: AU: Sticks and stones will break our bones, but words will break our hearts. Ten year old breaks, a history of compound fractures, and a future full of old bones. What will it take to overcome what can't be undone? Rating T for now subject to change in the future.
1. These Dusty Bones

**Chapter 1-These Dusty Bones**

* * *

She had a couch in her own office but she liked the view this one allotted through the large bay windows overlooking the mall. It was soothing watching the bustle of life below, the tourists eagerly racing from museum to museum in order to see the newest exhibit, absorb history in its finest. She needed the reminder that life existed outside of her sheltered life. She missed being part of it. However, she also knew that was her own decision, to step back in solitude instead of join in the game. As much solitude as an almost two-year old child and a busy career gave her that is.

It started out as a no brainer; she took a step back to get her life back together. Her life had changed drastically; tragedy blowing up her world into tiny pieces she'd yet to still be able to put back together. After time had passed, Callie found herself unable to rejoin the world and that was self-preservation. There was only so much that one person could handle and she'd reached her limit early on.

She was top in her field, well one of the top, and even with her resistance to go back into field work, she was still greatly sought after. But because of her resistance, she knew the cards she had to play were limited, and when the Board of Directors came to her, _informing_ her that they'd received a grant to add onto the paleontology department, meaning not just bringing somebody on but bringing somebody to share her position, she couldn't argue. How could she when they'd been so very understanding with her? They promised her that they weren't replacing her, nor did they think that she needed a co-department head, but that with the new funds, and the résumé and contacts the new paleontologist would bring, it was too big an opportunity for them to pass up. Callie had no choice but to accept her fate with an open mind. That's been her life anyway, succumbing to fate and have no other choice but to keep on swimming.

So here she was, slowly fading into the abyss of sleep as her almost two-year old daughter spread out comfortably over her body, finally having succumbed to sleep herself after a rather tempestuous tantrum that Callie was worried wouldn't ever stop. Sure the daycare provided to the staff could have taken Sofia and possibly the tantrum wouldn't have even happened but Callie preferred to have Sofia in her sight unless she was on the floor and even then, with the nanny in tow, Sofia was often found entertaining herself in the kiddie-dig while her mother worked on whatever exhibit had her attention.

That's how it had been for almost two years now, Sofia never being far from her mother. Separation anxiety was the least of it and anybody that knew Callie's history understood. Well, at least now they understood. But when Sofia came into this world and Callie's world fell apart, she almost lost her career with everything else when she flat-out refused to abandon her daughter for the duties that had once been the highlights of her job. After a drawn out battle and Callie threatening to leave completely, the board folded, giving into the woman's demands. They wouldn't risk losing one of the best paleontologists just because she stopped digging; especially when her expertise couldn't be replaced. Dr. Torres was simply too big to let go and with the funds and grants that just her name alone brought into the Smithsonian, they quickly found out that they could afford to keep her overseeing the work in the museum and hire more than one person to go back out into the field that Callie unwillingly, willing left behind.

For the most part, Callie simply played the hand dealt to her. She learned long ago to stop looking back but eventually she stopped looking forward too, barely living in the now. The only history that Callie had any interest in was attached to the bones she was examining. The only future that mattered was giving Sofia a loving, safe environment, and saving the little girl any of the grief and tragedy that Callie had experienced in her short life. By forty, Callie had seen it all and never wanted to see it again. She would never look back and had no reason to.

* * *

Arizona was exhausted and her tour was nowhere near over. Over-anxious, she had decided to walk the grounds before meeting with the board member taking her on tour and she'd over walked to the point of pain. But she wouldn't let on and wasn't going to let that stop her. She had. Let it stop her. At one point she had succumbed to the pain, both physical and emotional and checked out entirely. She'd lost her drive and goals and will to live. And everything else when she stopped living. She understood now and was finally getting back into the world of the living. She didn't begrudge anybody for bailing on her when they did. She wasn't easy to be around and looking back, Arizona now realized she did everything in her power to push everybody that cared away. She didn't want anybody to care because she'd lost everything and they'd never understand. By the time she realized that they did understand, that their sympathy was empathetically driven, it was too late.

So here she was, starting over. A new town. New life. Technically, new career. And by new career it meant she was resigned to "desk duty." For a woman who thrived on being in the midst of things, being forced out of the field and into a position where she oversees things was a real mar on her self-worth. Arizona Robbins _was_ the digger. She ate more dirt and saw more blistering sunburns in her ten-year career out in the field than some people saw in their lifetimes. And she loved it. Every painful moment. Until the end. The end that almost killed her and ultimately destroyed the Arizona Robbins that everybody knew and loved. Loved. Past tense. Nobody loved Arizona Robbins anymore. To be honest, she was certain that nobody had loved in her ten years but that was by her own doing. This, where she was now, had to be some sort of sick, twisted, delayed karma. But while she spent her entire life looking at history, her own was off-limits even to herself.

Quickly hobbling to catch up with his swift pace, Arizona refused to let Owen know she was hurting. Of all the people in the world, Owen would understand but Arizona wasn't here for understanding, she was here for a job. One she could do with her eyes closed but it was that or start over completely. And Arizona was so tired of starting over. It seemed to be her life's work to get somewhere and end up at square one anyway. The only upside to her constant reboot in life was that she got to do it in a different place each time. Failed relationship in one state, new job one thousand miles away without phone reception or internet to remind her of her losses. An affair turned bitter when her partner realized there wasn't going to be anything more outside of tent sex and the occasional romp in the wilderness then boom, a new dig, new staff, new start and while not a thousand miles away, far enough that she never had to deal with the mess of it all. Arizona never had to deal with the mess because she was smart enough to pick the perfect time for an affair; toward the end of the dig knowing very well she would be packing up and moving on before feelings got involved. Arizona Robbins no longer did feelings. Which was another problem when things fell apart because she had to face her demons during her rehab. That was hell. But with all the rehab, she still held her tongue even when she knew better. Today, she knew better. But just because she knew better didn't mean she acted upon it.

"Dr. Robbins, we can go grab a drink in the cafeteria and give you a rest if you want." Owen recognized the change in gait and when his new employee refused to slow down, he thought it best to take matters into his own hands. He didn't want to wear her out before they even began.

Arizona knew how far the cafeteria was and grimaced internally at the thought of taking the tunnels two buildings over. Slowing down as Owen's stride had turned into a stroll, Arizona went to decline his offer when she saw the sign on the door less than a hallway away, **Lounge**. "I'm not terribly thirsty but is that the staff lounge?" She asked, pointing at the closed-door.

Getting the picture, Owen nodded starting out to lead the way. "We have lounges on every floor but as most of the paleontology department is in the dig room or out in the field so this one is often a great one to be used for solitude. For the most part, our two heads of the department will share this but as Dr. T's office is her own sanctuary, she spends most of her free time in there and will be out of your hair."

"Dr. T? I thought the head of paleontology was Dr. O'Malley?" Arizona was confused. Were they replacing one person with two?

"Sorry, I've known her since she was fresh out of school, still can't get the hang of calling her by her married name. You'd think after all these years it would come naturally but that's not your worry. So for the most part, Dr. O'Malley will be out of your hair. Your work in juvenile remains will probably keep you busy for a few months until things settle down anyway. We just had a dig conclude and send in what looks to be about fifty different skeletons, most unassembled or identified."

"Talk about jumping in the deep end right away." She smiled as they stopped outside of the door. "So … before … were you trying to nicely say that my colleague is difficult to get along with?" Arizona inquired.

"No no no. She's great. Everybody loves her, it's just, this isn't easy for her, bringing you on. She's the head haunch-o here and she feels as if it's a blow to her career bringing on a co-head." Owen explained.

Arizona understood, she didn't like the share the spotlight either and that's what she was going to have to do but it seemed as if they had little choice and they were both going to have to make the best of it. When you stepped out of the field and out of that limelight, you knew if you were offered the next best thing, a job at a prestigious museum where you got to call the shots, you took it. Regardless of having to share the spotlight because at least you still got the title. "I'm not here to steal her thunder, from what I've read, we have completely different focuses anyway. I'm sure we'll barely see each other, especially with everything you're giving me to start off."

"You two will be fine. I've known you both for several years and you've both had a bad go of things, I think you two will find solace in each other."

"A bad go of things?" Arizona knew her bad go, if bad meant terrible, awful, and life altering crap but she didn't think anybody else's story could compare. She was skeptical but kept that to herself.

"Not my place to explain. Dr. T is very guarded about her personal life. But you'll be just fine, I'm sure of it." He opened the door, stepping back. "After you."

Stepping into the room Arizona stood in awe. The room, for a lounge, was grand. Cathedral ceilings, the architecture was amazing. And the windows overlooking the grounds were captivating. It was beautiful and the furniture was spot on for the room. Yes, she could get used to this.

"There's a small kitchen through that door and any and all of the books are here at your disposal. We have a library too on the sixth floor but these are all books in your field. Your assistant can help you find anything you're looking for and eventually you'll get the hang of it." Owen explained as Arizona took everything in.

"God, this is fantastic."

Callie's eyes shot open, her breath hitched, and had her daughter not been sound asleep across her chest, she's sure she would have rolled off of the couch and under the coffee table in order to flee from that voice. She knew that voice anywhere. There's no way she could have forgotten that voice, it was the last thing she heard when her world came tumbling down all those years ago.

_Callie stood frozen in place trying not to completely break down or throw up everywhere. Boxes lined the apartment wall, there were suitcases standing by the front door, and the small, velvet box she was certain held the ring that was once on her lover's finger, sat lonely on the bar counter top. "No, please." Callie begged, tears streaming down her face._

_"This is important, Callie. A once in a lifetime offer, I can't turn it down just because you have a year of school left. What am I supposed to do, wait around for you to finish? That's not fair to me." She remained calm even if she was falling apart inside. She had to do this. For Callie, she had to do this._

_"What about us? We were going to go together. I mean, you can go now and I'll come out and meet you when I'm done. It's not even a full year until I can join. The dig is three-years. I can still be there and ..."_

_"Callie ..."_

_"No, no. You don't get to do this. We're engaged. You can't walk away." Callie argued._

_"You know, Calliope, sometimes I think you're only here for your M.R.S. instead of your PhD." She shook her head, immediately regretting the words. "I need to go. I can't do this with you anymore." She turned without another word and walked out of the door without looking back._

"We haven't even reached your office yet." Owen smiled looking around like a proud papa. He'd be an integral part to getting this lounge and most of the suites back to proper order. They worked in history and he wanted their environment to reflect that. It took years but he'd gotten everything there. "Oh, Dr. T, sorry, I didn't see you there." His voice dropped to a whisper as he saw the tiny one on her chest, deep in slumber.

Crap. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Crap. Callie cursed herself for not taking Sofia down to daycare and instead being in this room. At this moment. Here. Now. Shit. Fuck. Crap. Putting her best smile on, Callie eased herself up off of the couch without waking her daughter who proceeded to curl into her mama's chest comfortably as Callie stood. "Owen." She nodded in his direction completely avoiding making any contact with the woman to her right. The woman stopped in her tracks with shock coloring her face.

"Before you disappear, let me introduce you to Dr. Robbins. She'll be joining the paleontology department with you, your new co-head." He explained.

Callie was blind sided. Deer in the headlights. Completely thrown off track. And it was nobody's fault but her own. She was sent the résumé and biography of her new co-head along with any other information they thought she'd need but in a sign of immature protest, Callie used the paper as a coaster until any and all information on it was covered in coffee spills and then she threw it out. Damn it. Had she only read it, she would have known. Damn it.

"Arizona." Callie's voice caught in her throat, hitching slightly but only Arizona caught it.

Staring at the woman with a child, the spitting image of Callie Torres in her arms, Arizona almost fled. Had she been able to run, she really might have. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Dr. O'Malley. This woman was supposed to be Dr. O'Malley. Not Callie Torres. Nowhere in this woman's biography did it give any hints that it might be her ex. God, she'd never have accepted an offer knowing full well that she'd have to work one-on-one with Callie. Ten years. It had been ten years. And god, did Callie look good. But she was holding a child. Fuck. Her own child, that much was obvious. Here was her ex, looking great, obviously having everything she ever wanted and then there was her, barely surviving, trying to get back a smidgen of what she'd lost. This was bad.

"Calliope." Arizona squeaked. The silence was deafening, leaving Owen to wonder what the hell he had done.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Feedback is very welcome.**


	2. Ground Down Bones Just Leave Dust

**Fossilized Hearts**

**Chapter 2- Ground Down Bones Just Leave Dust**

* * *

Owen stood between the two women as they eyed each other suspiciously, nobody making a sound. As far as he knew, neither woman had run into the other in their entire careers and he was pretty certain he was correct. He'd been with Callie in a professional manner since she'd graduated from her PhD program and Arizona had been in Mongolia for at least five years up until her accident before completely falling off of the grid. Yet the familiar tension in the room was suffocating them all.

They stared each other down, taking in the sight before them. There was no emotion for Callie but shock. Arizona Robbins was standing in front of her after all of these years. And looking great. While Arizona couldn't help but look from the child to Callie's hand and back. Immediately she noticed that there was no ring. Of course there was no ring, they were diggers. They didn't wear jewelry even out of the field. Out of habit, after years of digging, even wedding bands were left at home or dangling low on a necklace somewhere. Nobody in their right mind wore rings and being in a museum setting didn't change that. There they were often found in the dig labs or working on bones. Why was she checking for a ring, damn it? Callie had a child, of course there'd be a ring somewhere, just not on her finger.

"I, you two know each other?" Owen broke down, no longer able to keep his mouth shut.

Callie glared in Arizona's direction, a protective hand covering her daughter's back but more importantly, herself. It was appropriate to say that this was one of those times that called for the fetal position. "No." Callie spoke bruskly. "I can honestly say I don't know _this_ woman." Because she didn't. The Arizona Robbins she knew walked out of their apartment and never looked back and she didn't know _this _woman.

"Owen, Sofia's not having a great day. I'm going to take her home." Callie made a beeline for the door.

"Callie." He called after her. "Callie. Callie." She didn't answer or acknowledge him. "But Callie, that's why you have a nanny and one we pay very well." He sighed in defeat as the door shut behind her.

"You pay for her nanny?" Arizona asked, completely astonished but she wasn't sure which was more surprising: Callie's kid or _seeing _Callie's kid. Because Arizona always knew that Callie would settle down and have a family one day but also the fact that she was so well taken care of at work that they paid for a nanny was unsettling. Both things set her back a little.

"When we want you, we'll do just about anything to keep you." He shrugged. "We made your office and the bone lab completely accessible for you, didn't we?"

Feeling shame, she mumbled under her breath about how she had specifically told them no special arrangements were to be made. Arizona had refused special treatment, even against her better judgement. She didn't want the reminders. Didn't she have enough of them already?

"So, how do you know Callie?" He broached the subject needing to know just what he'd gotten himself into so that he could send out reinforcements to help but watching Arizona's face reflect inner turmoil and her body tense up, he decided to go about it another way. He could easily read Arizona and her body language was screaming: _I can't go there_. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"No. No problem. We just have some ancient history. Stuff that will stay buried, don't worry." Arizona pasted on a fake grin. "You already said we'd be out of each other's hair, no worries." Except Arizona was worrying. She was past worrying, she was in a full panic attack. Her history with Callie was very complicated at best and things weren't, there wasn't ever closure. And now, all these years later with so many new wounds on top of the old, and Arizona was not prepared for this. This being a confrontation. _The _confrontation. Ten years in the making. Arizona didn't know what she was going to say or do or how she'd react or what Callie would say or do and she was already dealing with so much. Could she handle much more? Callie walked out today but there would come a time when Callie couldn't walk out and they'd have to talk. Or yell. Or ... Arizona was not ready for this. She should have gone into acting with the way she could perform. Hell, acting would have been much safer. And she'd have lost nothing with it.

"How about I show you to your office and you can settle in? You'll have to hit security today to get your badge but everything else should be ready for you."

"My office is ...?"

"On the other side of the floor, don't worry." He assured her.

* * *

The knock on her door almost sent her into a tailspin of panic had she not already been practicing her breathing techniques. The job she didn't want just added another notch into her reasons to flee category and Arizona was having a tough time not doing just that.

"Come in." She took a deep breath, fear consuming her as she worried it was Callie coming to give her a piece of her mind.

"Hi. I'm April Kepner. I'm currently working on my PhD and have been assigned as your assistant." The woman walked cheerfully through the door. Too cheerfully. "Or fellow. Or your intern. You can refer to me by any of those. I'll answer."

Of the two evils, Callie or an overly enthusiastic doctoral student, Arizona would choose this one any day of the week even if the woman's perkiness was doing a number on her already fragile mental state.

"Dr. Robbins, this is such a pleasure. I've read everything you've ever done and published. Your work in Mongolia is renown, I'm so sorry about what happened. You were so close too. I can't believe it but you're here and you're alive and ..."

"April was it?" Arizona didn't wait for her to answer. "Look, if you're going to work with me, I have two rules. One, we don't discuss Mongolia, _ever_." She snapped.

"I'm sorry. I can totally understand you not wanting to talk about it. It must have been so scary out there. I read everything about it until you disappeared off of the grid for a while but I get that. It's one of my biggest fears, ya know. And since you went through it, it can obviously happen to anybody. I was just, I'm sorry. I just think you're amazing. You do such great work. You're kinda my hero. I didn't mean anything by it." April's smile fell.

Arizona softened at that. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." It wasn't fine but Arizona had to stop snapping at people or she'd alienate everybody and she'd already done a damn good job of that so far. "How … how many people here know about Mongolia?" She asked.

"I'd assume the board since they hired you and Jackson. Jackson Avery. _The _Catherine Avery's son. She's one of our biggest contributors. When she donates money to the program, she decides where it goes. So Jackson I know, knows. We studied one of your digs right after it happened. But they've been keeping your arrival on a very need to know basis so I don't know really. A lot of the press was on the death of Ellis Grey and while you're well-known, the death of a legend trumped everything." April stammered realizing her insult to injury. "I don't mean to downplay what happened to you. You just seem worried is all and I think most people focused on the dead and not the survivors."

Arizona scoffed. Survivor. Yeah right. She all but died in that damn place. She did die. She was the furthest thing from a survivor.

"And Dr. Torres?"

"Who?" April looked at Arizona as if she had two heads.

"Dr. O'Malley. Does she know?" She asked worriedly.

"Not that I know of. I mean, two years ago …" April froze as she realized the timeline. "No, Dr. O'Malley hasn't been very active around the community for the past two years. She actually hasn't been out in the field for about two years now either and she tries to stay clear of it." Her voice grew quieter as she explained. Dr. O'Malley was one of the greats. Is one of the greats and it was a shame what life had handed to her. She had been on the fast track to the Paleontological Society Medal when she just up and gave it all up. She would have been the youngest recipient to date. April understood why. Hell, everybody understood why but it was still heartbreaking to watch her lose it when she was so close.

"Dr. Torres ... I mean, Dr. O'Malley doesn't dig?" Arizona felt vindicated that her last words though calculated and terrible, that they weren't in vain. Vindicated and beyond completely pissed off. How dare Callie's spouse ask her to give it all up. Yes, of course Callie wanted a family, they wanted a family _together _but never in a million years would Arizona have ever let Callie give up her dreams, to settle. _She _didn't let Callie give up her dreams. That's how they were here, why they were here. And Arizona was now passed pissed off, she was irate. She selflessly walked away from the best thing in her life and Callie ended up doing just what she was trying to avoid from the get-go. Suddenly Arizona was really sad.

"She has uh, other things she does but no, Dr. O'Malley doesn't dig." April knew she was treading deep waters by divulging any information about her other mentor so she tried to sway the conversation off course. "And two?" She asked trying to get the subject from Callie. Callie's business was not hers to share and this was made _very _clear during orientation for reasons April didn't understand but didn't want to question either.

"Two?"

"You said two things. One, don't mention Mongolia. And two is?" April looked flummoxed.

"We'll just stick with never mentioning Mongolia, please." She stressed. Two didn't matter at the moment and two meant explaining too much. Arizona was too far emotionally exhausted to get into detail about number two.

"Well, it's so great to have you here. You're a real asset to the program and I am so excited to be working with you." She gushed.

Taking the praise over the horrible knot in her gut, Arizona sat back trying to push Callie out of her mind. For now at least. "So April, tell me about our colleagues." Arizona took mental notes and when her assistant left and she transposed those notes to paper in the notebook she carried around for her eyes only. The damn notebook she hated with the passion of a million burning suns but knew that the reason behind it was a good reason. She just hated being chained to the dumb thing.

**Dr. Sloan:** Taphonomist. Sexual deviant. Close to Callie.

She underlined his name twice with quick jabbing movements before scribbling her notes, elaborating on whatever April had told her. The way April talked about Dr. Sloan, him and Callie, Arizona was not impressed. The only thing that brought Arizona some peace of mind was that his last name was Sloan and not O'Malley.

In short, he was their Taphonomist; essentially the plastic surgeon of the dinosaur world and that meant she'd be working very closely with him, a lot. He was apparently over sexed but brilliant. The very best in his field. April swore he should have been fired years ago for numerous sexual harassment claims but the board kept a very hefty insurance fund because his mind is worth it. Some people get great health insurance, Mark Sloan gets great sexual misconduct insurance. Arizona was _not _looking forward to working with this man. But not for the obvious reason being of his apparent _close _relationship with Callie but because Arizona had thrown out all of her full length mirrors years ago and did not need any reminders of who she once was. Arizona used to be Mark Sloan. Emotionless, empty sex to fill a void in their life. There was before. Then there was after. And this empty shell was Arizona now. Shame-filled.

**Dr. Bailey:** Head digger. Grumpy. Bossy. Well respected.

Arizona smiled when jotting down Miranda's name. Truth be told, she was one of the reasons Arizona accepted this job. Bailey was a long time colleague and a wonderful friend. For what friends Arizona had left. She didn't know what happened in Mongolia, or at least Arizona never told her but that wouldn't have mattered. Bailey wouldn't have taken the hint and she'd have stuck by Arizona's side. And Arizona needed somebody by her side so when Bailey's name popped up on the list of people she'd be working intimately with, Arizona jumped on the train. Literally and figuratively. Bailey was their digger. Head digger _now_. Kept everybody and everything in their place. Of course she'd stayed in the main field of paleontology but that didn't surprise Arizona much. Her own mentor had bullied her into general and in the end, it was what was best for everybody. Bailey didn't have the patience that was needed elsewhere. Actually Bailey just didn't have patience.

**Dr. Shepherd:** Sexy hair. Very sexy hair. Could be in a hair porno. Callie's right-hand man. Paleoanthropologist. Digger.

Arizona had heard about him. She'd heard _lots _about him. He was pretty. She'd been on enough digs to have heard that Dr. Shepherd was prettier the dirtier he got and now she'd finally get to meet the man who had team after team fawning over him. He was their local paleoanthropologist. With Callie's expertise, she often took lead in many departments, out in the field. They didn't need specialists when they had Dr. Torres ... Dr. O'Malley leading it up but when she refused to go out in the field any longer, Dr. Shepherd was brought on to balance just one part of what they were now missing in Callie. While in different preferred studies with Callie focusing on fossilized animal remains and Derek on human paleontology, he was still her right hand man. Derek's excavating skills far surpassed anybody Callie had ever had the pleasure of working with so she overlooked what she saw as his weak speciality, for his hands. And it didn't hurt to have a pretty face about the place.

**April Kepner:** Underdog. Overzealous. Needs guidance. Maybe a heavy hand but warm heart. Needs to stop talking so much. Really. Shut up.

Arizona's first opinion of April was that she was annoying. Very annoying. But after a few hours with the woman, annoying put aside, she was a plethora of information. Arizona, by the early evening, knew the intimate workings of the museum staff she'd be sharing her life with for the foreseeable future. It was much easier than getting to know them on a personal level. Arizona Robbins didn't do personal levels. If you weren't already in her life, there wasn't a ladder high enough to broach her walls now.

**Dr. Grey:** Micropaleontologist. Ellis Grey's daughter. Sleeping with sexy hair.

Dr. Grey. Dr. Meredith Grey. Oh Arizona knew the name, very well too. She'd worked very closely with Dr. Ellis Grey before the accident and her untimely death. The woman had very little nice things to say about her daughter. She was unhappy she'd gone into such an _easy _field. Arizona never understood how Ellis could call micropaleontology an easy field when they had the largest number of fossils to identify, recognize, and memorize. Callie had given a few months to it back in school before she realized her love lay in the bones. Big bones. Those few months had given Arizona a constant headache. If she had to hear about the fifteenth tooth on the laddisbar side of the callisaufer row one more time, she'd have killed them both. But didn't Arizona do that anyway? Or at least one of them in the end? Shaking the thoughts from her head, she went back to her thoughts on each of her new colleagues. Dr. Meredith Grey. Micropaleontologist. Sleeping with Dr. Shepherd. Every fellow's dream, down the drain. The man, according to April, was off the market.

**Dr. Yang:** Paleontologist/Paleoanthropologist/Micropaleontolo gist. Callie's lap-dog.

Paleontologist, paleoanthropologist, AND micropaleontologist. Same old Cristina. Overachiever still to this day. Didn't surprise Arizona, at all. Cristina was working on her third PhD during her time with Callie and Arizona at University and she was a few years younger. Talk about a hit to your self-esteem. The woman was brilliant. And a first-class bitch. April despised her. She would never say so. Arizona caught on very early into their gossip fest, because that's exactly what it was, but she learned that April, while quick with information, would not bad talk another colleague. All the information Arizona was taking in was her insight to whatever April had to say. And April, without saying so many words, couldn't stand Cristina Yang. Cristina could often be found buddying around with Callie. No surprise there either. Arizona never understood Callie's relationship with Cristina; they were polar opposites. But she didn't question it either because Cristina was the one that picked up the pieces so many years ago; Arizona was certain of it. And because of that, Arizona couldn't hate the woman who ultimately saved Callie's life. How could she be anything but grateful to her?

**Jackson Avery:** Pretty boy. Catherine Avery's son. No set destination aside from screwing April.

Paleontology fellow: Callie's assistant. Not to be trusted. April fawns over him. Actually, Arizona was sure April was sleeping with him on the side. And by side, Arizona caught the engagement ring on a necklace around April's neck but the way she talked about Jackson, he was _not _her fiancé. Most of the information for Jackson was clouded with lust. Arizona maybe got the understanding that he preferred to have been given to Dr. Sloan but Dr. Sloan didn't take interns on unless he planned to sleep with them and Jackson had the wrong parts. So Callie was saddled with him and from her brief but enlightening conversation with April and Dr. O'Malley was not pleased about this.

**Dr. O'Malley:** Head of Department: Avoid at all costs! No comment.

That's all she would write. It was hard enough to write out the name O'Malley, there was no way Arizona could write anything else. The memories were enough and Arizona didn't need any other reminder of her losses.

"_I hear congratulations are in order." Dr. Beckett stopped Arizona in the hallway before graduation._

"_My dig? It's just out in Utah, nothing super grand." Arizona was confused. It was a great dig, not many people out of their program got such an opportunity, but it wasn't something to write home about either._

"_Well for your graduation of course but also for Callie. I mean, obviously yours is great too. I know how hard you worked for it and to lead your own dig is a remarkable thing." _

"_Callie?" Callie wasn't graduating for another year. Arizona really had no idea what he was talking about. And Callie was going to join her on her dig when she graduated. Again, nothing to write home about._

"_Yes, Callie. Your fiancée. The Smithsonian is planning on recruiting her when she's done. I'm sure you've heard the chatter in the field, they've had her at the top of their list for weeks. We've been fielding calls about this for a while now. They want her." He paused looking at the confusion on her face. "You hadn't heard?" He asked unknowingly setting off a chain of events that would forever alter their lives._

"_Oh, that. Yeah. That's great." She faked a smile as her heart shattered._

"_Come on Dr. Robbins, this is fabulous. We aim for our students to snag such a prestigious opportunity. And Callie deserves it. She's been top of her class since the beginning. I've never had a student work so hard. And it looks great for us too. The Smithsonian. Can't do better than that right out of the program." He was beaming with pride. Of course he was, he was Callie's advisor and probably pulled every string possible to get her this opportunity. _

"_Does Callie know?" How could Callie not tell her?_

"_Oh. Oh. No. I, that's why you didn't know. I mean, I figured since you've already hit your dig a few times and working with the Smithsonian team out there, you'd know. Oh my. I'm terribly sorry Dr. Robbins. I always do ruin things. This is hush-hush for another few months. Oh, me and my big mouth. Please promise me you won't tell Callie. I know that's asking a lot but I hate to ruin the surprise. She's going to be thrilled." _

"_Yeah, thrilled." Arizona's voice lacked the enthusiasm Dr. Beckett's held. And for good reason. "Callie's going to be thrilled." She repeated trying to convince herself to be too._

"_Well Dr. Robbins. It's been great working with you, I should let you get along to graduation. Good luck out there, we'll be watching." He smiled, leaning in for an awkward hug. "Thanks for keeping the secret."_

_She watched him disappear down the hallway, still trying hard to digest the information he'd just given her. Callie was going to be big. How could Arizona hold her back from that? Not that Arizona had any choice in the matter because once her partner made up her mind, she was in. Arizona knew very well that her relationship with her girlfriend would come before Callie's own wants and desires even if that meant giving up probably the best thing that would ever happen to her career. She knew Callie was in this dig no matter what her losses would be. But she couldn't let Callie do that. She couldn't let Callie give up everything for her. She knew what she had to do._

Arizona shook her head to rid herself of the memories. It sucked, that she still had no control over simple things such as what she wanted and didn't want to remember. And that, she didn't want to remember it. Any of it. It sucked. She wanted the good memories but it seemed as if she was doomed to be saddled with the painful ones from now on. Talk about a stressful day; this one took the cake. If she was only counting the past seven days. It seemed, every day took the cake but this one was kind of up there compared to lately. Her life had settled down. As settled down as she could get.

Looking at the clock, it was well past eight and Arizona needed to head home. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow; a nine o'clock meeting with Dr. O'Malley meant she needed a good night sleep and a clear head. She almost laughed at that thought. At both thoughts. A good night sleep? A clear head? Shit, she was screwed.

* * *

Pacing the full length of her foyer and hall, Callie's daughter had fallen asleep in her arms at least an hour before but the pacing helped clear her mind. Sofia helped clear her mind. And Calle's mind was filled to the brink. Who the hell thought she'd ever see Arizona Robbins again? And be working with her. Intimately. Damn it. Callie hated her job. No, she loved her job. Okay, so she loved paleontology, she hated being out of the field and stuck in the museum but her job paid the bills and kept her mind busy. Being in the field was too dangerous and she now had responsibilities at home. Ones she couldn't just brush off on other people because they were her responsibilities and she owed this little girl everything. Sofia had already lost too much for Callie to go trekking off to no man's land and leave her behind. Maybe, when she got older, maybe she could go with Callie. If the Smithsonian would give her a nanny, a tutor wouldn't be too much of a stretch, right? Except Sofia wasn't even two years old and that meant at least three more years before she could safely take her daughter to a dig. And that meant she was stuck with Arizona Robbins for that time. Unless she found herself bored and itching to go back out and dig. Why wasn't Arizona digging anyway? Digging was Arizona's entire life. She'd give up ... well she gave up everything for a stupid dig. Callie wasn't going to start asking questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to and she sure as hell wasn't going to answer herself. Just like she had her own reasons, she was sure Arizona had hers too.

"Hey baby!" Cristina let herself into the grand house taking the sleeping girl from her mother. At the sound of the front door shutting, Sofia awoke reaching for the other woman. "Why aren't you in bed my little Raptorex? Is Mama keeping you awake with her loud thinking?" Turning, Cristina caught site of the nanny just off the hallway in the study and motioned for her to come take Sofia. Some days Cristina wished she was Callie's nanny. The woman did very little work for a very large paycheck. But that wasn't her fault. Callie was overprotective and left very little for the nanny to do aside from making meals and that didn't happen often. Her friend refused to let Sofia out of her sight, afraid she'd just slip away. She almost did slip away, Callie almost lost her, so it was understandable just unnecessary. It was an accident. They happened. But Callie took full blame and she wasn't even in town. She couldn't have stopped it even if she had been in town but guilt and grief were nasty emotions and very controlling. So much that Callie was stuck in their nasty clutches and Cristina feared she'd never find her way out. Especially now that one Arizona Robbins was back in town. Either it was perfect timing, Callie's grieving needing a push to reach its end or a curse from the deepest depths of hell to make matters worse for her. Cristina was hedging her bets on which one it was but she wasn't sharing, not just yet.

"You know if you don't put that baby down once in a while, she's going to go to first grade on your hip." Cristina waited until they were alone before she started in on Callie. Everybody knew nannies couldn't keep their mouths shut and Cristina wasn't going to feed whatever gossip pool the woman was part of.

Ignoring the pleasantries that her friend had done as well, Callie walked past Cristina and into the study where she poured herself a rather tall glass of whiskey. "Trying for alcoholism there Callie?" Cristina asked but didn't turn down her own tumbler when offered.

"Why aren't you screwing Owen tonight?" Callie snapped. She was already on edge and didn't need Cristina's sarcasm. Her company yes but not her sarcasm.

"I thought you might need some company. And before Sloan comes over if you had anything to get off your chest, since he's a gossip whore." Cristina shrugged trying not to look concerned. After running into Jackson Avery once he found out Dr. Arizona Robbins was now on the team, Cristina got over to Callie's as soon as possible. Owen was pretty tight-lipped as to what happened, just that they had met but apparently knew each other and Callie flew the nest as fast as she could, Sofia of course in tow. He didn't know their history and Cristina wasn't going to tell him. That was up to them.

"I'm fine." She gulped down the warm liquid, the burn the best feeling she'd had all day.

"Yeah, I can tell. Do you want to start practicing, _Hi I'm Callie and I'm an alcoholic_ now or later?" She remarked when Callie poured herself another two fingers.

"Shut up." Tears stung her eyes as she swallowed that in another quick gulp. The buzz was almost immediate and a very welcome change from the dizzying feelings Arizona's arrival had brought.

"So who else knows?"

"I'd expect Miranda." Callie answered quietly. Of course Bailey knew, she was there. Cristina and Bailey both were there. But neither gossiped and her secret was safe. For now.

"You okay, Cal? Really? Because I can convince Owen to terminate her." Cristina offered knowing that man would do anything for sex.

"I'm okay, Cristina." Callie lied. When was the last time she was okay? "I feel like Thai food tonight, you in?"

"I'm in. What am I in?" Mark walked through the door shortly after arriving. He heard the sadness in his best friend's voice and hated that. He hated that it had been years since she laughed freely or smiled without pain hidden behind it. He stopped to eavesdrop but didn't have any idea what he was listening to. He'd get it out of Callie soon enough. But right now he'd let her grieve or rant or cry or whatever she needed even if he was on the painful receiving end. It seems that's all he was capable of letting her do anyway.

"Thai food. I'm ordering." Callie spoke picking up the phone unable to look at her best friend. Because if she did, he'd know something was wrong and she was so tired of everybody asking if she was okay. Damn it, she wanted to be fucking okay.

"I left my wallet in the car, do you mind if I use this, it's raining." He grabbed for the green umbrella out of the holder by the door.

"No! Don't touch that! Leave it alone. Damn it Mark, just go get wet!" Callie yelled, the tears she'd been holding back slipped down her cheeks as she grabbed the umbrella from his hands and marched off out of the room.

"Georgia's?" He asked Cristina who was standing there a little shook up from Callie's outburst.

"Yeah." She nodded. Of course it was Georgia's. When was the last time he saw Callie using a neon green umbrella or anything?

"She's never reacted that way before." His feelings were hurt but more he was upset that he had made Callie cry. Again.

"It's been a bad day for her, she's already on edge. Don't take it personally." Cristina knew he would but there was nothing she could do about it. Callie needed to get it out of her system and her and Mark were safe and they'd take it to the chin like champs. Somebody had to or an innocent bystander might get the brunt of it. Or a not so innocent bystander that Cristina was certain was also unable to take the punches while she was so soon recovering from her own demons. Cristina had a foot in every part of the paleontology world, she knew exactly what was going on with Arizona Robbins and why she was back. She'd wait her out a bit, see what her intentions were before they talked. And they _would _be talking.

* * *

MRS degree explanation: Going to school for your MRS or Mrs means you are going to school to find your spouse and for no other reason. It was a low blow Arizona used against Callie's ambitions or lack thereof in order to hurt her. Stay tuned, more shall be revealed in due time.


End file.
